1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multi-input reporting and editing method, and system, in which multiple individuals can provide input into creating report content, and provide greater information depth to the report. In particular, the present invention is used in medical applications, such as radiology, and both the input and the output data of the “dynamic” medical reporting and editing method utilizes gesture-, symbol-, or icon-based reporting language which translates into a standardized medical lexicon. The report output is formatted as hierarchical data that can be entered into structured medical databases for the combined purposes of research, education, outcomes analysis, and quality assurance.
2. Detailed Description of the Relevant Art
Medical reporting in its current form is a static process that begins and ends with the initiation of a single text-based report. This can take a number of forms from a consultation, operative/procedure note, history and physical, or imaging test results. Further, the format of the reporting has involved radiologists making notes or marks with wax crayon on x-ray film, or dictating reports into a microphone, which have been nonreproducible, inaccurate, or which take a lengthy time to generate. Regardless of the format and medical findings being described, the author (i.e., physician) issues a text document that is then reviewed by the ordering clinician, who in turn renders a medical management decision based on these report findings.
In reality, however, conventional reported findings are not dynamic, but are static in nature. Accordingly, if the medical report was a dynamic instrument that allowed multiple users' input, and could track follow-up data over time, the report would be more valuable in its ability to guide medical practice management, and create a vehicle for database mining and quality assessment.
Thus, a method and system of medical reporting and editing, which allowed multiple data inputs and end-users to be involved in the accumulation, processing, and analysis of the data elements contained within the report, and which could perform all these tasks in a timely and accurate fashion, and which can combine any of these tasks for efficiency purposes, is desired.